Cannabis: Licensing
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences to cultivate cannabis have been issued under regulation 12 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 in each year since 2018; and what fees are payable for such a licence.
Answered by Home Office
Licences to cultivate 'High THC' (tetra hydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant) are issued by the Home Office under Regulations 5 and 12 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. These licences are issued for a period of one year to a specific entity operating at a site.
The numbers of High THC Cultivation Licences issued each year between 2018 and 2026 (to 31 August) were as follows:
Year | Number issued (Jan 1st to Dec 31st) |
2018 | 8 |
2019 | 20 |
2020 | 20 |
2021 | 18 |
2022 | 27 |
2023 | 21 |
2024 | 22 |
2025 | 21 |
2026 | 16 (up to 31st Aug) |
NB These figures do not include low THC 'industrial hemp' licences which are considered under a separate light touch licensing regime, also managed by the Home Office.
The fees payable for such licences are between £326 and £1,371 for repeat cultivators, depending on whether a site-based compliance visit is needed, and £4,700 for a first-time licensee.
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